psychology

The different branches of psychology
(red) and their links with allied sciences (yellow).

Originally the branch of philosophy dealing
with the mind, psychology became the science of mind, and is now considered in its more
general context, to be the science of behavior, whether human or animal. It is
intimately related with anthropology.
(See also animal behavior.) Clearly,
psychology is closely connected with, on one side, medicine and, on the
other side, sociology. There are a number of closely related human branches
of psychology.

Experimental psychology embraces all psychological
investigations controlled by psychologists. Their investigations may center
on the individual or group, in which case statistics will play a large part
in the research. In particular, in clinical psychology,
information is gained through the treatment of those suffering from mental
illness. Social psychologists use statistical and other
methods to investigate the effect of the group on the behavior of the individual. In applied psychology, the discoveries and theories of psychology
are put to practical use. Comparative psychology deals
with the different behavioral organizations of animals (including humans).